TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep frying chicken pieces in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The migrants from Scotland would often work, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some new seasoning to the dish andcreatingtheir own interpretationof Southern Fried Chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thechefsin many a Southern American household where deep-fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his record he noted that at meals the local people would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in actuality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also observed that it travelled well inwarmweather prior to refrigeration was common so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor.
Since then it has become the region’s preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known food for crispy fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most eminent cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy.
Her procedure had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a success in the United kingdom and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original food...
Joint two chickens into pieces; marinate them in vinegar for 3-4 hours with pepper, salt, bay and a few cloves. Make a very thick batter first with ½ pint of wine and flour then 2 eeg yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a fine deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and serve them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a excellent gravy. In the present day, we have swapped out the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which contains nearly zero trans fats and we use a brine of buttermilk and salt to season our chicken throughout. It’s amazing to think how far this food has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
